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Longmont-area teachers stage 'walk-ins' in push for more K-12 funding in Colorado

By Amy Bounds

Staff Writer

Posted:
04/16/2018 12:25:48 PM MDT

Updated:
04/16/2018 05:28:28 PM MDT

St. Vrain Valley School District teachers from at least nine schools staged "walk-ins" Monday morning before the start of school, waving signs and walking in the building as a group.

The walk-ins were a way for teachers to support the Colorado Education Association's Lobby Day without resorting to walkouts. Widespread teacher walkouts in the Englewood forced the school district to cancel all classes Monday.

Julie Benjaminson, who teaches seventh-grade math at Longmont's Westview Middle School, was joined by about 30 teachers wearing red before classes started for the school's walk-in.

"We want to draw attention to the fact that the state hasn't put education first for a while," she said. "Colorado is a great place to live, but we need to pay our teachers so they can afford to live here, too."

First grade teacher Kelly Sauseverino participates in the "walk-in" before the start of school at Central Elementary in Longmont on Monday morning. The St. Vrain Valley Education Association is organized "walk-ins" to protest low teacher salaries and show solidarity with teachers in Englewood walking out of their classes on Monday. (Lewis Geyer / Staff Photographer)

In her 22 years as a teacher, she said, Colorado's school funding consistently has ranked in the 40s compared to other states. Another recent study ranked the competitiveness of Colorado's teachers salaries as last in comparison to other states.

"If we have more money to put toward education in the budget, that has to happen," Benjaminson said.

At the state Capitol, dozens of Colorado teachers were demonstrating and lobbying, pushing for more state funding for K-12 education.

Steve Villarreal, St. Vrain Valley Education Association president, was joined by eight St. Vrain teachers at the Denver demonstration. Teachers from the Boulder Valley School District, where school was out Monday, also participated.

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"We want to send a message that public education funding has been neglected for too long in Colorado," Villarreal said.

He said St. Vrain's teacher salaries are higher than in many school districts in the state thanks to community support in passing tax increases to supplement state funding — but he said that's creating inequities statewide.

He pointed to the increasing number of Colorado school districts moving to four-day schools weeks as an indication that low state education funding is reaching a crisis point. Almost 90 Colorado districts have gone to four days.

"Our teachers deeply appreciate what the voters of St. Vrain have done," he said. "As a state, we cannot sustain education equitably if we continue to fund it the way we are. There's just not enough funding for everybody."

Tina Mueh, president of the Boulder Valley Education Association, attended the demonstration at the Capitol along with about 15 Boulder Valley teachers.

She said teachers appreciate the Legislature's efforts to provide a $150 million boost to K-12 education for the next school year, but want assurances that those efforts will continue.

"We want stable funding for public education," she said

Along with concerns about overall school funding, she said, teachers are increasingly concerned about the stability of PERA, the state retirement fund for public employees. Teachers at the Capitol attended a hearing on Senate Bill 200, which would cut benefits to shore up PERA.

Joan Hollins, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Longmont's Longs Peak Middle School, said teachers wore red to show solidarity on Monday and are planning to participate in a day of action on April 27, which could include walkouts.

She said she's concerned about how low state funding affects both teachers' salaries and the quality of education for students.

"Most of us in St. Vrain feel pretty fortunate because our community has supported us," she said. "But we're still not competitive with the rest of the country. Our teachers aren't able to live in the communities they work in because of the cost of living. We've been underfunded all these years in Colorado, yet we have one of the best employment pictures in the country. Our students are not getting the education they deserve "

Villarreal said the teachers union is working with the school district on its plan for April 27.

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